SummaryEach warrior possesses a Totem, a personal collection of symbolic power. One's totem defines who one is, and as the warrior grows, so too does his totem.
Totems are composed of Aspects, with each Aspect granting a bonus and being acquired in a different way. A totem might well be thought of as a collection or stack of the warrior's aspects.
Aspects may be anything. They may be animals, plants, objects, concepts, or anything else you can think of, and may be something you have seen with your own eyes, pondered on deep in thought, or encountered only in dreams.
AcquisitionAspects are earned whenever a warrior overcomes a major challenge. This might be anything from slaying a wolf to crafting a net, but only serious, important challenges to the warrior may grant another Aspect. As a result of this, any given task may only grant an aspect once; slaying a second or third wolf would not grant a valid aspect after slaying the first, though slaying three wolves at once, slaying twenty wolves altogether, or slaying a wolf to save someone dear to you might.
It is important to note that the events that grant totems also shape their form, and a warrior's aspects in turn shape them. Slaying a wolf is likely to grant benefits related to courage, combat prowess, savagery, and so on; consequently, a warrior whose totem consists entirely of similar achievements is likely to be very combat-oriented, both in current aspects and in chances to acquire more.
EffectsEach aspect grants a +1 bonus to one attribute: Body, Heart, or Soul (and thus a corresponding bonus to HP, Hunger, or Heat). Naturally, this bonus is based on the nature of the aspect.
Furthermore, each aspect grants a situational bonus or special ability of some sort, obviously based on the nature of said aspect. Aspect-granted abilities can be extraordinarily varied, and thus it is difficult to speak about them in general, but some possible sample abilities are listed below.
Large Belly | +2 Hunger |
Cannibal | Double food effect of raw sapient flesh |
Warrior | +1 damage |
Hunter | +1 to one chase roll/day |
Gatewatcher | Able to craft dreamwalk powder |